Attack on Kashoon
by cyberhawk777
Summary: Six years after the Republic was organized into the Galactic Empire, Darth Vader has undertaken a campaign to bring as many worlds as possible under the emperor's rule. However, when the imperials eventually reach the forest world Kashoon, an unexpected encounter with someone from Vader's past may derail the plans of conquest.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know this may not fit 100% into the Star Wars: The Clone Wars section of the site, but my reasoning for putting it here will make sense later.**

An Imperial star destroyer was in orbit over the planet Kashoon, the next one to be conquered as part of Palpatine's plan to rule the galaxy. A squad of stormtroopers were boarding a Sentinel-Class landing craft to descend to the planet. The inhabitants of the planet, the Kashoonara, were considered to be a savage, primitive, race, causing the Imperial officers to believe minimal resources would be necessary to conquer the world.

The landing craft made it's way down to the planet's surface, where the troops deboarded and immediately began checking their surroundings.

"All clear. Let's move in," one trooper commanded.

Blaster fire filled the air as the troopers encountered a nearby village, killing a number of the natives. Rather quickly, men armed with various weapons began a highly-organized counterattack and managed to take down several of the invaders before making a temporary retreat due to still being out-gunned.

"Let's follow them, men!" came the command from the sergeant.

A corporal added, "At this rate, we'll have this world conquered before nightfall!"

About a dozen stormtroopers charged at the group of Kashoonara, who were now outside the village, leading near some trees, seemingly goading them. However, once the troops had pursued the natives into the forest nearby, there was a green flash, after which most of the troops were struck down, apparently by a lightsaber. The Kashoonara had a Jedi helping them! Reinforcements tried to come to their aid, but failed due to being unable to see their opponent, who managed to slaughter most of the squad.

The few remaining troops raced back to their shuttle and returned to the star destroyer that was in orbit over the planet to report what had happened and to get reinforcements. Once they were face-to-face with Vader himself, the last remaining sergeant began speaking.

"Lord Vader, we had a group of Kashoonara on the run, when most of the men on our squad were killed by a Jedi."

Vader considered this for a moment and replied, "Are you certain this was a Jedi, Sergeant?"

"Yes, Lord Vader. Whoever it was killed the men with a lightsaber," the commander answered.

"There are some non-force users who are skilled with a lightsaber," Vader commented nonchalantly.

"Sir, I fought with a number of Jedi during the Clone Wars. Only one of them could be that quick and effective."

Vader nodded in acknowledgment. "I will deal with this matter personally."

Turning to leave the room, he added, "First, I require time in my meditation chamber. I sense…a familiar presence in the force. See that I'm not disturbed."

"Yes, Lord Vader," the stormtrooper commander acknowledged quickly.

Vader retired to his meditation chamber and, after confirming what he sensed, climbed into his shuttle to fly down to the planet. He knew that if there was indeed a Jedi there, they would likely sense his approach and come looking for him, providing ample time to prepare.

The shuttle descended to the planet, setting down in a large clearing near the original one the stormtroopers were in earlier. Then, Vader exited the shuttle and dropped to his knees to meditate while waiting for his enemy, the mysterious Jedi, who by now had likely sensed his arrival.


	2. Chapter 2

Shortly after repelling the first wave of invaders, the Jedi had walked to her small hut not far from the battlefield for some solitude while waiting for the the infamous Darth Vader to arrive. As she sat down, her mind drifted off, thinking of all that the Sith, and Empire, had cost her over the years. After leaving the Jedi Order, she wandered for a time, before arriving to the planet where the man she had loved for a long time, but with whom she had been unable to become involved, due to the rules against attachment. They were married shortly thereafter, but before they could settle down and start a family, the galaxy was plunged into chaos as the Republic was transformed into the Galactic Empire.

Eventually, the young couple forced to lead a planetary resistance movement against an invasion of imperial forces, as they had a similar experience in the past. The people fiercely defended their planet, resulting in a war that was costly to both sides. In the final skirmish, part of a squad of stormtroopers was bearing down on the former Jedi and her husband. The remaining resistance fighters around them had been shot down. Knowing the Empire had won the battle and instinctively wishing to protect his wife, who had given up her connection to the force, he shouted for her to run as he dashed from their cover and charged the attackers himself, determined to take out as many as possible. In the end, he was brought down by almost two dozen blaster bolts.

The plan worked, however. The former Jedi had managed to grab a few items from their home and take their corvette offworld. She was on her own, now. During this time, and with great meditation and practice, was able to rekindle her connection to the force. The next objective was more difficult: building another lightsaber. She was able to gather most of the parts without much trouble, but the challenge was locating a suitable crystal. The Empire seemed to have destroyed or seized many of the best places to find them.

At this point, she didn't even care whether the crystal was the same color as her old one, so long as it wasn't red. The woman simply wanted a functional lightsaber. Eventually, while walking through a less-than-ideal portion of Nar Shadaa, she found a merchant who was attempting to sell a large crystal with what he said were "mystical powers." She could sense the force strongly within the crystal and knew it would be sufficient to complete her new weapon. After reluctantly persuading the merchant through the force to lower the price, the Jedi bought the crystal.

She drifted around for a while, staying ahead of the Empire's reign of terror, until finally arriving on Kashoon. The Kashoonara were hesitant to trust the offworlder, but soon she earned her place among them by protecting two humbabas from poachers.

She wanted to forget her troubles and hoped to just live out her days in peace, but that was not to be. During a morning walk one day, she spotted an Imperial probe droid. Although it was quickly dispatched with a blinding-fast lightsaber strike, the distinctive sound told her that the droid had time to quickly send a transmission back to the base or starship it had come from.

Realizing that no world was totally safe from the Empire's grasp, she had decided to help protect this one, or at least the region she had settled in. Immediately, she began negotiating with the different tribes, until they finally understood the danger and agreed to form a militia. The jedi would then train this militia to better prepare them for the tactics she had observed the imperial troops using, as most on the planet had little to no experience fighting large groups of offworlders. Shortly thereafter, the militia was re-organized into a regular army with the former Jedi being requested by the various tribal leaders to take command.

"And now that they know I'm here, they'll probably send Vader and I'll have the opportunity for revenge, something a Jedi should not seek," she thought.

Pausing to consider this, she added to herself, "But a Jedi should try to protect the innocent, which is a more noble goal. Either way, justice will soon be served."

She had already ordered the soldiers to leave Darth Vader for her. And now, sensing that he was approaching the planet, she donned her cloak and walked out for a final showdown. She would either take her vengeance or die trying. Regardless, only one of them would walk away from the battle.


	3. Chapter 3

As Vader and the mysterious Jedi prepared to face off, she finally removed her cloak, revealing herself to be a lovely togruta who appeared to be in her early-20's.

"If the Empire want this planet, you'll have to go through me," she declared, extending her lightsaber and flipping it around to a reverse shien grip.

The dark lord was not surprised at the identity of his opponent, as he had already sensed her presence.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you, Snips."

Ahsoka Tano turned off her lightsaber as her eyes grew wide. She had seen and heard of the horrors committed by the Empire and Darth Vader, but had been in exile during the events of Order 66 and had only heard about everything through Imperial news reports. At no time did she learn that the Sith lord Darth Vader was her old master.

"A-Anakin?" she stammered, "No. It can't be. You killed the younglings at the Jedi Temple? And the masters?"

Ahsoka had to pause for a moment as tears formed in her eyes, "-Lux..."

Darth Vader finally spoke again, "It was the bidding of of my master to eliminate all threats to the Empire. The Jedi Order had betrayed the chancellor and the Republic. They had to be dealt with."

"I don't believe you!" his former padawan shouted angrily.

Ahsoka closed her eyes for a moment, fighting back the tears as she remembered the day stormtroopers invaded Onderon, finishing her thoughts from earlier. She saw Lux as he raced itoward the stormtroopers and received over 20 direct hits while trying to protect her. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

"Anakin, what have they done to you? You aren't like this-"

"That name has no meaning to me! Anakin Skywalker is no more!"

"You can't believe that, Skyguy. I know my old master is in there somewhere. Help me defend the planet. We can work together and stop the empire."

Ahsoka's pleas seemed to have an effect for a few seconds, before Vader shook it off and said, "No. Join me. Be my apprentice once again. We can stop the emperor and rule the galaxy. I sense the dark side growing strong within you."

Ahsoka shook her head. "I-I can't do that. I would never become a Sith."

"I don't want to kill you, Snips. Please, stand aside!" Vader shouted.

Ahsoka extended her lightsaber, "No, Anakin. I'm not going to let you do this."

Vader responded by extended his crimson blade. "Then you leave me no choice."

The pair fought aggressively, with Ahoska quickly realizing that she could easily use her speed and quickness as an advantage against the slower Darth Vader.

"His style has changed. It must be because of that armor," she caught herself thinking, "It's like dueling someone I've never fought before."

The clashing of the lightsaber blades continued for what seemed like an eternity, as Ahsoka was able to do minor damage to Vader's suit, trying to avoid killing him if possible.

"Anakin! Come back to the light side again!" she pleaded once more, this time apparently to deaf ears.

The battle continued until Ahsoka was able to lop off Vader's robotic forearm.

As the duel continued, Vader shouted, "Ahsoka! Don't make me do this! You can join us, or at least leave the planet!"

"I'm sorry, Anakin, but I can't let you kill or enslave this people. It's my duty to protect them. Help me and we can run the Empire out of here."

Unfortunately, this final plea went unanswered. The former padawan's skills were impressive, even to Vader, but she was gradually tiring. It had been years since she was involved in a lengthy lightsaber duel with a skilled opponent and her endurance wasn't what it used to be. Her former master's cybernetics, however, gave him a greatly-enhanced endurance level, allowing him to outlast most any opponent.

Seconds later, there was a flash of red and a green lightsaber hit the ground. Its owner dropped to her knees first, and then to the ground. Darth Vader knelt down beside her, showing compassion for the first time in over a decade.

"I'm sorry, Snips. You left me no choice."

Before she went to be with the Jedi who had gone on before her, Ahsoka said weakly, her eyes filled with tears, "I know there is still good in you, Anakin. I...just hope...that someday...you will see it too."

With those words, she passed on. Vader stayed nearby, deep in thought and mourning over the last link to his past. A small team of stormtroopers (who had come down to check on the dark lord) approached.

A commander worked up the courage to ask hesitantly, "Lord Vader. Are you...alright?

Without looked up or moving, he ordered calmly, "You may continue with the invasion as planned. Just leave me for a few moments."

The invasion went as planned, with many on the planet falling to the Imperial forces. Over the years, however, Ahsoka's final words would echo in Vader's mind. Perhaps, despite his protests, a remnant of Anakin Skywalker had survived after all.


End file.
